How Do You Remove the Airbox?

Tried to remove it on my 2007 1100 and two bolts won't unscrew, like they are in rubber rather than held on by nuts.  All I have found is "remove the airbox" without specifics.  Please see photo of the two bolts.

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Yes, the bolts go into bonded threads in the rubber tank supports, they can be a right royal PITA to remove. Persist and they may break free at the frame end and come off with the tank or quite likely the bushes will eventually rip and become a sacrificial part. It's quite a common issue with bikes that have rarely, if ever, had their tanks off.

Pete

Those bolts are screwed (in any sence) to the silentblocks where the tank sits on. I guess that they have seized. I think theyre galvanized steel while the sillentblock fitting is brass...

Anyway, when this happened to me, I kept unscrewing, so the silentbloks were unscrewd from the frame, took out tank/battery case/silent blocks/bolts as one, then tried to unscrew those bolts from the silentblocks. Managed to destroy only 1 silentblock, still, as I had to buy 1, i replaced both.

Got plenty humidity here, and varius metals on the bike, steinless-galvanized-carbon steel and aluminum, seizing is not a strange thing to me.... I started taking seriously when removing the brake caliper, the bolt came out taking with it most of the aluminum caliper thread.

I now use loctite 8009 - non metalic, suits any metall combination, has graphite to allow electicity flow. Being a lubricant, tightening torques used needs to be lower by about 20% to avoid overtightening.

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Thanks for the responses - confirmed my suspicion though I didn't have specific knowledge.  I have some followup questions:  

First of all, I am doing this to get at the neutral switch because I want to connect a gear indicator and need to connect to the neutral indicator wire so that the gear indicator has a neutral position to work from.  

I couldn't find the neutral wire anywhere because it is buried so I figured that simply connecting to the neutral switch was the easiest way to splice in, but then this bolt problem popped up.  So, does anyone know an "easy" way to connect to the neutral wire w/o the need to take out the airbox to get to the neutral switch?

If I have to take out the airbox I have some followup questions:  Does it do any good to try to wedge up the bolts as one unscrews them?  This is a California bike so it has no rust but galvanic action could be at work.

I have no intention of taking off the tank - just want to get the airbox out.  If I just keep screwing and the silent blocks come out will I be able to put things back together?  Any brilliant work arounds?

1-N-2-3-4-5-6 6-5-4-3-2-N-1

Yes, I know the shift pattern.  A little background - I am 70 years old, just got the bike and had a hit and run on my classic Vespa about a year and a half ago that left me with a concussion for more than a year, and some other injuries but no broken bones.  Plus I live in Los ANgeles where every morning the 24 hour news reports "motorcycle down" This bike is a beast compared to the Vespa, which I have put about 40k miles on and love to death.  I don't have to have the gear indicator but at this point and with my limited experience with the bike there are times that I am not sure what gear it is in.  The indicator was cheap and I thought it would be relatively easy to install, so what the hell, just do it as it might come in useful and maybe make me a bit safer.

Unless you are on the rev limiter, any gear will pretty much do. These things have a nice fat torque profile, especially when mapped properly.

Sorry man, I get it. Sometimes I just can't contain my wise ass self.

I laughed...




















But then again, I am pretty twisted...

sideshowbob wrote:

Sorry man, I get it. Sometimes I just can't contain my wise ass self.

You young whippersnappers

i thought it was funny too, mine somethimes has a 0 too

Alright, I did it.  How?  Used a coat hangar to snag the neutral switch wire from the left side and took up all the (little) slack enough to cut out some of the protective covering on that wire.  Used a press-on connector to splice into it.  Took some finessing.  Did not want to try to pull the neutral wire off its switch through that opening as it looked like I would never be able to put it back on the same way.  

As for the GRiSO being so tourquey that any gear will do - I have always wanted to be in the "ideal" gear since I started riding double derailleur bikes in college, same with my 4 speed 177cc classic Vespa, and that's the way it will always be.  I do believe though that it will become automatic and reflexive with the GRiSO, with more "time behind the wheel."

Hasta la vista

LACKADAISICAL wrote:

 I do believe though that it will become automatic and reflexive with the GRiSO, with more "time behind the wheel."

Hasta la vista

Glad you got it, and you are correct. I have learned in 6th gear what rpm goes with 60 and 70 mph.